Prince of Peace!

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6 NIV)

The Bible calls Jesus the Prince of Peace. That means He is the ruler of peace. He is the ultimate peace. Having His peace is not like having the peace the world has--His peace is permanent. It never changes, and it can never be taken away. With that said how do you take it from words to action? Is it strong enough to believe in and hold onto? For us this Christmas season will be unlike any we have ever experienced before. Without a question we recognize a deep sense of peace that is embraced and is strong enough to hold you while we walk through the trial we are faced with. When you are facing life’s most difficult moments and you can’t fix them, you must recognize you can’t just quit--you must endure. What is it that gets you through? It is peace you are reaching out for--peace that can only be found in our Lord Jesus Christ. “I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have [perfect] peace and confidence. In the world you have tribulation and trials and distress and frustration; but be of good cheer [take courage; be confident, certain, undaunted]! For I have overcome the world. [I have deprived it of power to harm you and have conquered it for you.]” (John 16.33 AMP)

It’s interesting that the word “peace” literally means “to set at one again.” In other words, when we are one with the Father, when we line up our thoughts, our words and our actions with Him through the blood of Jesus Christ, we will experience His peace in our lives. Anytime we find that we don’t have peace about something on the inside of our heart, when we feel an uneasiness, that’s a sign that we should stop and pray and make sure we are in line with God’s direction. Remember, His plans are for our good. He leads us by peace and fills us with His joy. “You make known to me the path of life;    you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.” (Psalm 16.11 NIV) When you choose His ways, you become one with Him and experience His peace and blessing all the days of your life! We thank God for you and appreciate your prayers for Terri as we believe for a victory on her journey!

 

Blessings,

 

Put Your Hope Back in the Lord!

This is what King David did. He put his hope in the Lord in the midst of his lowest moments. Notice I said moments. He was not facing a downtime once but he had many other challenges but did not choose to make his home there! The spirit of heaviness attempted to choke out his hope, peace, strength and even his dreams… But David said in Psalms 43:5 “Why are you cast down O my soul? Hope in God.”

He was asking himself bro what is wrong with you? Why are you discouraged? Why have you lost your joy? God is still in charge. He is still able and capable. HE can put your hope back in the Lord! We faced this opportunity recently and we choose to hold onto the promises of his word. They have become medicine to our soul and our hope is stronger than ever but we faced that moment of confusion, uncertainty, and fear.

Heaviness is real and when it tries to come up on you, do the same thing—look in the mirror if you have to “Listen here this is what we are dealing with… However we are not alone. God will go before us make crooked ways straight. I choose to keep my head up so I don’t look back or down because we are choosing to put our hope in the Lord!”

The world we live in has so much negative news reports if you are not careful you’ll find it sinking in and taking hold of you. This is how the spirit of heaviness comes on you subtly consuming, trying to destroy along the path. But we must watch what we speak, hear and keep a constant check on our attitudes.

The bible tells us what to do when this spirit of heaviness comes upon us in Isaiah 61:3.  “Put on the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness.” When you begin to hear all that negativity like you have no future, it is dark, or it’s impossible remember the word and start proclaiming it as you praise him!  “God, your word declares that I have a future and a hope (         ) that you birthed destiny inside of me (                   ). God I thank you that you declare you are the light and I can walk in you and you will direct my steps. You are in the middle of my steps… and things impossible with man are possible with God!”

Thank God for what he has done in the past—the small, medium and large size things. I find it funny that heaviness tries to remind us of our past. Out of our past can come the greatest victories and ultimately who we are today! See our God is turning around our situations, our attitude is believing again because we are proclaiming truth and the truth will set us free! Bottom line, if you do this you will experience a freshness of joy, peace and hope rising up in you. Literally I have experienced this and can on occasion feel something building inside of me! We won’t have that victim mentality but one of an overcomer.

Let’s choose to live in a season of Praise!

 

Blessings,

 

Take the Focus off of Performance

God is calling us to be bold. We may find we have the tendency to not take chances in life because we're afraid of making mistakes. God wants you to know He's pleased with you when you try. It doesn't matter if you don't do everything exactly right. What matters is that you step out in faith, believing God will help you. 2 Timothy 1:7 says that God has not given us a spirit of fear but of power—and He wants us to use it! It doesn't take courage to do what we already know we can do. True courage is displayed when we're afraid to do something but we go ahead and do it anyway. The truth is, we don't ever have to fear because we can ask God for His help anytime we need it.

There are so many people who are so afraid of making a mistake that they don't do anything. Instead, they sit around saying, "What if I'm wrong?" Well, we're human. We're going to make mistakes and look silly from time to time. We can be so afraid of being judged or criticized or getting embarrassed. But the only thing fear does in our lives is stop our progress. 
 
What matters to God is relationship…not performance. God knows we aren't perfect, and He's totally okay with it. The problem is, the enemy knows it too, and he does his best to tell us every step of the way! We can be going along, serving God, doing good, stepping out in faith and then all of a sudden, without there being any warning for it, we'll have a day or week when we have an attack on our mind about fear.  Fear can cripple our mind and let me tell you I have been there… That's when we need to say what God's Word tells us:

The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. 2 Corinthians 10:4-5 NIV

The truth is that honesty outweighs perfection! We can care too much about what people think of us to the point where it totally immobilizes us and we are petrified about looking wrong. But do you know what? I think if we are more truthful, we will actually get more respect than we do by trying to hide everything, pretending we're perfect. We need to stop living in fear of making mistakes, because we will make mistakes—period. God is not asking us to not make any mistakes. He's calling us to be bold—fearless in approaching Him, in stepping out in faith, and in trusting Him to lead us.

Blessings,

 

 

Give People Room to Grow

Our church is not be a museum of perfect people but a place of restoration and transformation where the hurting and lonely are made to feel welcome. Jesus is the one who saves and sets free. He is the gate (John 10:9) and the only way to our Father God (John 14:6). So why do we sometimes feel the need to keep people out of “our” church? You and I don’t know what is in the heart of another person!

Romans 5:1 (NIV) tells me “we who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak.” Yes we will have to put up with flaws, be generous with our mercy and love people. But we have been called to embrace the broken, the defeated, those left to die alone. We are to be God’s instrument to bring restoration and hope back into people’s lives! Jesus said “it is not the healthy who need the doctor, but the sick” Luke 5:31.

This does not mean that we condone what they do, but we can and must love them as God’s children! We are not excusing people‘s behavior—their actions are for God to judge! Imagine Jesus in today’s world. He would be touching and encouraging the least likely and most unlikely, and they would be restored.

Proverbs 15:4 says a gentle tongue brings healing. It’s amazing what a few kind words can do! These words carry with them healing power. Our job is to put the healing oil on the wounds, lift the fallen, be a friend to the lonely, to encourage the discouraged. When we take this approach instead of giving them what they deserve, you and I actually start the healing process.

Let’s give people a little room while they are in the process of changing! Maybe God put that person in your path not to judge but to encourage them and support them on their journey to wholeness. Therefore encourage (admonish, exhort) one another and edify (strengthen and build up) one another, just as you are doing. (1 Thessalonians 5:11 AMP)

Our attitude should be “Dear Lord how can I help this person realize the great things God has for them? What can I do to inspire them to become better? How can I help them experience more love, mercy and a sense of belonging?”

We who are strong must be considerate of those who are sensitive about things like this. We must not just please ourselves. We should help others do what is right and build them up in the Lord. (Romans 15:1-2 NLT)

Blessings,

Ridding Ourself of Selfish Ambition.

3 Do nothing out of SELFISH ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, 4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; 7 rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross! 9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
 in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:3-11, NIV)

While the journey is filled with promise of all that is to come, our challenge begins first with what we are willing to give up. We are instructed to do nothing out of selfish ambition (greed or vain conceit or pride). When we live life fueled by these motives, we choose the life of a fool. Ambition itself is not wrong, ambition is not the problem it is selfish ambition.

The challenge is the more self-oriented we are, the more controlling we are. What drives us to want to be so in control of things, even people and behaviors? Maybe fear or trust. For me the freedom to live in peace and allow God to be God and to be in charge gives me great rest from that nonstop fight that takes place. Fact, people are people and will do what they want—when, where and how. It is not my job to manage them or their behavior. This does not prevent me from investing in people. I do invest and it is God who brings the harvest. Imagine no more selfish ambition--just free to live a simplified life serving Him and really allowing Him to be God!
So the challenge is to ask our self, “Have we eliminated God from parts of our life? Do we find our self-trying to be God in our lives and in the lives of others?” After you answer these questions you will find out what you need to release back to Him. Releasing ourselves back to Him and emptying ourselves will lead us to a path of freedom and greatness for Him! Freedom--that is what I want!

Praying for your best.

Blessings,

New Seed Springing Forth

"And the Lord said, "If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you." (Luke 17:6)

What's ready to spring forth from you? Sometimes we ignore what we don't see. In my case we have lived in the same house for 14 years and recently we have been overtaken by crabgrass! Yuk that means take all the grass out and start over retill and uproot the weeds and allow it start fresh.

This is a challenging time because your front yard looks bare BUT the hope is some new grass will come in and be healthier! We sometimes are not as interested in health as we are appearance! How many seeds have gone to waste, because we were too focused on the tangible things? Transferring that to spiritual thinking what is waiting to spring forth from the seed God has planted in you? Anytime you purchase seeds, each packet has a set of instructions on how to plant it, how long it takes to germinate and how soon you'll see results.

We have the same instructions for what God has germinating in us. His Word, prayer and being led by the Holy Spirit. Yielding to God will plant it, obedience will help the germination keeping the weeds out and faith will cause it to come to pass! We just have to be patient! "Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ. (Philippians 1:6) One seed of love, can repair broken relationships, one seed of faith can carry us through the most difficult times in our lives. Whatever seed of destiny the Lord has placed in you, hold onto it. Don't allow anyone, any situation or circumstance steal your seed. Follow His instructions so you can watch it spring forth into a great harvest! Get used to the idea that God has a plan!

Blessings,

Creativity Dwells in You!

You have been created to be creative.

Yes that is right, creativity rests inside you, waiting to be invited to be a part of the journey we call life, and it has been placed there by someone greater than you. Our God, the one who created you, placed his fingerprint on your heart and called you by name to be His! The same God that created the universe, the earth, the mountains, the seas--the same God has that creative power and releases it to you to be a creator. Why not dream about creating something and watch God bless it multiply it for His purpose!

The Bible says, “God created man in his own image…male and female he created them. God blessed them and said…‘Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over…every living creature that moves on the ground.’ Then God said, ‘I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours’” (Genesis 1:27-29 NIV). The power of this passage is that God has given you everything required to succeed at whatever He’s called you to do.

Sound too good to be true? There is a catch--it will not be handed to you, but you must tap into your God-given creativity! The Bible says, “In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams.” (Acts 2:17 NIV). Every great accomplishment begins as a vision or dream, and every God-given vision comes with the innate power to fulfill it. Others may be more educated and experienced, but they don’t have a monopoly on creativity. The reality is, there’s a “God-idea” inside you right now that’s just waiting to be released. By not tapping into it you’re settling for less than God wants you to be, do and have. Whatever you feel called to do—write, paint, play a piano, build a business, nurse, teach, or just serve —step out and do it. If you wait until you can do it perfectly or without criticism, you’ll never do it! Walking on water begins with one step of faith. It also brings you closer to Jesus. You see, Jesus wasn’t in the boat, He was out on the water saying to His disciples, “Come” (Matthew 14:29 NKJV). Only one of them did: Peter. And though he did it imperfectly, it changed his life. So don’t be afraid, tap into your creativity and watch what happens.

This is a twist in your journey. Truthfully I am not perfect doing this but when I do it, I step back and marvel and give God the thanks for how he does what he says he can do! God is the real deal!

Blessings,

 

 

Hope is Real!

 Learn from yesterday… Live for today… Hope for tomorrow!

 This is a quote I heard with no apparent author but the one word that speaks out loud to me is hope!  For some of us we have to get past our past, choose to live today and believe there is a tomorrow we can have hope for! Maybe our starting point is to discover the word hope and recognize hope is a gift we can have and enjoy!

 On the way to the church, I saw these words written on a sign at a local church. It said, "Hope Is Real." I thought about it and (needless to say) agreed with the statement. But as I pondered the simple little phrase, I realized that for many people hope is not real. I believe that is one of the most important gifts we can give to another person, the gift of hope.

 You see, someone who is hopeless and alone usually cannot help themselves out of their situations. They have a great sense of loss and helplessness. We must come alongside them and bring the good news of Jesus Christ and all that He has to offer.

 "The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." (John 10:10 KJV)

 One definition for hope is: To look forward to with confidence or expectation. We must bring the Word of God with all its hope to someone who does not know it is real. When we bring hope, we bring life. It is life changing to finally believe again. It is more than just asking God for something we so badly need; we must expect our miracle. Somewhere in the midst of asking, believing, and expecting God to answer, we will find what we are looking for.

 "I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living." (Psalms 27:13 NIV)

 I have felt for a long time that the biggest problem we have in the world today is there are so many people who have lost hope. There seems to be so many hurts, problems, sicknesses, troubles, financial woes, family problems, world issues, political concerns, etc. It seems the world has no hope.

Apart from God, it is an awful, hopeless place. But with God's help, we can make it. I want you to know that whatever situation you find yourself in at this moment, there is hope. You may not be able to see or feel the hope, but it is there for you. How do we find the hope? There is only one place where hope can be found, and that is in Jesus Christ.

 I don't want this to be just another Devotional. I want it to bring life to you. Pray out loud the words of hope into your life and your situations. I have hope! My hope is in the Lord! I will be strong and wait on the Lord. I trust God with my life and the life of my family. Speak these words every day. Hope Is Real. It comes from God! He has placed it in your heart. Speak it out and watch what God will do for you.

 I did a word search in the Bible for the word 'hope' and found many wonderful passages. They were mostly in Psalms and Proverbs of course. David found himself in situations many times and had to remind himself that hope is real. It comes from God. Here are a few of David's prayers to God:

 "But now, Lord, what do I look for? My hope is in you." (Psalms 39:7 NIV)

"Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God." (Psalms 42:11 NIV)

 
"Show me the path where I should walk, O LORD; point out the right road for me to follow. Lead me by your truth and teach me, for you are the God who saves me. All day long I put my hope in you." (Psalms 25:4-5 NLT)

"No one whose hope is in you will ever be put to shame." (Psalms 25:3 NIV)

"But the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love." (Psalms 33:18 NIV)

"Remember your promise to me, for it is my only hope." (Psalms 119:49 NLT)

Trust God. He wants you to trust Him. You need to agree with God about your situation. What does God say about who you are and what His will is for your life? Don't go by your feelings. Instead we should remind ourselves that God only has plans for us that are good. Jeremiah helps us remember what God has to say about us. "For I know the plans I have for you," says the LORD. "They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope." (Jeremiah 29:11 NLT)

Blessings,

Rejoicing in Trouble

“Breath came into them, and they lived, and stood upon their feet.” (Ezekiel 37:10 NKJV)

Your hopes may be dead, your dreams buried, your body run down, emotionally drained and spiritually weak. However, God can breathe life into you again. Ezekiel stood in a valley of dead, dry bones. That’s about as bad as it gets, right? Then something amazing happened. God said to the Prophet, “Prophesy…and say…‘Thus says the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.’ So I prophesied as He commanded me, and breath came into them, and they lived, and stood upon their feet, an exceedingly great army” (vv. 9-10 NKJV).

Personally speaking, I have had times in my journey when I was so weak it took everything I had to speak in faith and believe God heard me and say the exact thing. Those times are challenging and almost debilitating to say. In fact you begin to reason away or ask why even bother to make the effort. We are looking at self and limitations. BUT God turns it all around even if it is only one degree. Hope begins to circulate through your heart once again. Remember, any time you see a man or woman enjoying great success in God’s kingdom there’s a good chance they’ve been through the valley of devastation, hurt and rejection. Two example come to mind.  Paul-- It was after he had been thrown out of the city, stoned and left for dead, that he spoke of being taken up into the third heaven and experiencing things too wonderful to speak of on earth (See 2 Corinthians 12:2-4). David said, “In the day of trouble …my head will be exalted above the enemies who surround me…I will sing…to the Lord” (Ps 27:5-6 NIV). That’s how you praise in difficult situations, you are able to look back and say, “Thank you for the experience, Lord. Without it I’d never have gotten to know You like I do today.”

There is always something that God has planned just ahead of you, but you have to get there and get through!!  Please don’t let the appearance of defeat cause you to shrink back. Instead boldly stand up with faith in God and declare …‘Thus says the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.’

 

Blessings,

 

You are a Unique Creation!

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made, your works are wonderful, I know that full well. (Psalms 139:14 NIV)

I don’t know about you but there have been times I have let it be known to God that I am not real excited with the way things are going in my life! I can sometimes begin to look around at others noticing their strengths and thought if only… Then it hit me and hit me hard, that when we compare ourselves to others or wish we were like someone else, it’s like saying,” God you just didn’t do a good job.” It’s actually saying, “God, why did you make me subpar? Why did you make me less than (fill in your own blank)?”

It is not uncommon for this to become a place for excuses for not stepping up and using what God has deposited in you or allowed you to go though to strengthen you and build you up for the next season.

My eyes were opened when I read this section of scripture as to what is really going on and I hope it will do the same for you. Psalms 18:30-36 NASB:

As for God, His way is blameless; The word of the LORD is tried; He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him. For who is God, but the LORD? And who is a rock, except our God, The God who girds me with strength And makes my way blameless? He makes my feet like hinds' feet, And sets me upon my high places. He trains my hands for battle, So that my arms can bend a bow of bronze. You have also given me the shield of Your salvation, And Your right hand upholds me; And Your gentleness makes me great. You enlarge my steps under me, And my feet have not slipped.

Realize today, God didn’t make anyone inferior. He didn’t make any person second class. No, you are a masterpiece! You are one of a kind. You are fully loaded and totally equipped for the race that’s been designed for you!

Today, let your attitude be, “I may not look like someone else or have the job that someone else has. That’s okay. Nobody will ever be a better me. I’m anointed to be me. I’m equipped to be me!” Remember, it’s easy to do what you are equipped to do. Don’t fall into the trap of trying to be like someone else. Accept who God made you to be and embrace the good things He has prepared for you! Today let’s choose to focus on who HE is and what HE has provided for us that will allow us to fulfill our destiny.

 

Blessings,

 

 

It's Your Time!

I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father. (John 14:12, NLT)

I was reading this the last week of the year and with that it brought a new challenge for me and I am forwarding it to you.  Greater things than Jesus, the greatest man who had ever lived? What does that mean to us? How are we supposed to do greater things than Jesus?

Does it mean we are able to do more powerful miracles than Jesus? Have a bigger impact than Him? I don t think so. After all, I don’t know many people who have walked on water, multiplied fish and loaves to feed thousands, gave salvation to the world.

But what Jesus did do was release a greater power for us to extraordinary things on an extraordinary scale—the kinds of things that the early church saw and experienced firsthand. He still wants to do that through us today. Jesus never did or ever will call us to be greater than Him. He is calling us to be greater with Him through the Spirit that has been imparted to us.

Friends if we are guilty of anything we have underestimated His power and provision, and have lived life unsatisfied and discontent with the kind of Christ followers we are becoming. It’s not that we have become bad people but that we are wasting the potential that has been deposited in us! We are stuck in the starting blocks, or we are stuck dragging along with the pack of mediocrity. This is has the potential of being the most miserable place to live in.

There is a price to choosing to live in this place—our heart will shrivel up, our vision will be impaired, our hearing will become dull, and the simple freshness of life that puts a bounce in our step has become a limp to us.

Friend, 2013 is our time to believe that this impartation is real and we must choose to step into something greater than we ever imagined. I don’t know about but you but I am not satisfied with what I have settled for, and I am ready for God’s greater plan for my life to begin in full force.

Greater than the labels we were given when we were young.

Greater than the dreams we dreamed for ourselves.

Greater than the cynicism that settles in us as we get older.

Greater than even the greatest moments you have had this far.

The word greater will give you the confidence to know that nothing is impossible with God, the clarity to see the next step He is calling you to, and the courage to do anything HE tells us to do.

It’s in our hands. It’s Your Time!

 Blessings,